Da Deff Komp'ny

BoxerSaint's Classy Corner #1

2012-07-13T21:20:00.003-04:00

I’ve been an official author here for a month or so now, and I’ve finally decided to post. If it helps, I haven’t posted on my own blog in that time frame either. So, without further adieu, welcome to the first edition of “BoxerSaint’s Classy Corner.”

I wanted to make a good first impression on DDK blog, so I found an article on the Business Insider website discussing first impressions. I thought it was interesting and began to wonder how their 12 suggestions for a first impression can be applied in a digestible 40k format. Here are my results:

1. Dress for success

"Psychology studies reveal that first impressions are formed within 7 to 17 seconds of meeting someone; 55% of a person's opinion is determined by physical appearance.” -BusinessInsider



What this says from a tournament perspective is that what you walk up to the table wearing forms over half of what your opponent will think about you during and after the game. Personally, I’ve taken to wearing a button up and a tie to tournaments, mostly for the irony of standing next to the guy in the pink floyd t-shirt that he hasn’t washed since last month.

            Now some of your opponents may be so socially inept that they don’t gather any first impressions about their opponent, and at the end of the day they may not even remember a single person they met because they are too self-absorbed and socially oblivious to realize that this is a social hobby (if said person did actually realize it was a social hobby, he/she would have probably opted to stay home and play WoW/GuildWars/SWTOR instead). For the rest of us, we should probably take time to think about what we are wearing, and what that tells everyone else about us. We shouldn’t obsess over it like a middle school girl, but this is a small community, and you WILL run into your opponent again in the future, and what you wear can quickly set you apart from our socially oblivious counterparts.

2. Choose your words with care

“Statistics show that first impressions are also determined by the words people use. In fact, 7% of what we think of others is based on what they say.

Before you meet someone for the first time, think about how you want to come across: optimistic, confident, humble, aggressive, innovative?" -BusinessInsider

  Again, moving in from a tournament point of view, your words during deployment and the first turn can set the tone for the rest of the game. If you come off as interested in your opponent as a person, and try to engage them in casual conversation early on, then you are both likely to be more considerate of the other when that inevitable rules dispute happens in the middle of turn 3. You don’t have to feign interest in your opponent, but ask them a little about themselves.

                  I have a few stock questions I fall back to when facing a new opponent: Where are you from? How far of a drive is that to here? What do you do for a living? How long have you been playing 40k? Feel free to write them on note cards and keep them in your codex if you have trouble communicating with people face to face.

                  You can also come off as aggressive and intimidating if you hit the ground running. If the first words you say to your opponent as he approaches the table is: “Here’s my list, where is yours? Ready to roll off for deployment?” Congratulations, you have just made your opponent interpret you as 7% more rude and obnoxious than if you had simply introduced yourself first. Some people may use this approach on purpose, to immediately start the “above the table game” and force your opponent into a defensive mind frame before any rolls are made. Good luck with that.

3. Strike the right tone

“Have you ever instantly disliked someone because their voice sounded brash, whiny or cocky? That is because 38% of person's first impression is determined by tone of voice.” -BusinessInsider

            I can understand this statistic, but I think it is pretty shallow. Yeah the guy with the squeaky high voice might be annoying at first, but if you get to know him and he is a decent guy then I think your opinion can be adjusted. On the other hand, if he is a d-bag, then it just makes him exponentially annoying. No suggestions here, squeaky, you can’t really change your voice. Maybe gargle some green tea before coming to the tournament?

4. Readjust your body language

“During face to face meetings, 93% of people's judgments of others are based on non-verbal input like body language. How you stand, sit, and shake hands communicates a lot more than what you say.

Good body posture, a nice smile, and eye contact are essential for making good impressions. It is equally important to avoid crossing your arms (which may signify boredom) or sitting too casually (which could indicate a lack of care). It is easy to unconsciously strike a pose; stop every few minutes to notice how your body is positioned. You may be harming or helping your case without even knowing it. ” -BusinessInsider

I think this is a very useful section. Body language is just as important, if not more so, than what you say verbally. As they said, if you’re sitting across the table from your opponent with your arms crossed, huffing and puffing, and refusing to make eye contact, then they are probably going to assume you aren’t enjoying yourself, and are likely to not enjoy themselves as much either (assuming this is a more casual game). Be a good sport, if your Land Raider takes a penetration hit round 1 and gets immobilized, get over it. Yeah, the odds were against that happening, but that is how odds work. Give a jovial, “Oh man! That sucks for me!” and get over it. Fight on.

When I played football in high school, the coach made us run laps if he ever saw us on the field, bent over, trying to catch our breath. Why? Because it’s like blood in the water to an opponent. Once they see you starting to give up, they’ll feed off your fatigue and pounce on you. That rings true in a tournament as well. When I see someone start to get frustrated that their plans aren’t working how they want, I play a tighter game. I keep applying pressure and keep pushing them back. If my opponent is more casual and acting as if nothing I’m doing is affecting him, then I start to wonder what I am missing. I start to play with less confidence, trying to figure out what his strategy is, and why I haven’t stopped it yet. I’m less aggressive when my opponent is relaxed and more aggressive when my opponent is frustrated.

Also, to the guy that walks up to the table wearing headphones, and keeps them on during the game, what is your problem? Take your headphones off, this game requires open communication. When I see you wearing headphones from the get go, I immediately assume you are disengaged from the game. You can listen to Justin Bieber on the ride home, d-bag.

5. Use someone's name often

“ People like it when they are singled out; cater to their ego and call someone by their name.

As soon as you learn someone's name, say it back to them and then repeat it throughout the conversation...while it may seem simple, people are more likely to connect with you if you make the effort to get their name right.” -BusinessInsider

This is just an important tip for being polite. I have the hardest time remembering names, so for me, I am very impressed and appreciative when someone remembers my name, especially when I met them at a different tournament months ago.

Faces I can remember, but names elude me. Introduce yourself when you get to the table, as common courtesy requires, and after you get their name, repeat it and ask them if they are ready to start the game.

“Nice to meet you, Samuel Jackson. *Pause* So, Samuel, are you ready to roll for deployment?”

“Wow, Samuel, that is a tough list! 6 Twin-link Las razorbacks? I’m in for a fight!”

It helps you remember their name, and helps set the tone for the rest of the game as well.

6. Be on time

“Always be on time for an initial meeting. People are busy; one of the worst offenses you can commit is not respecting their time.

Even better, arrive 15 minutes early. Spend a few minutes collecting your thoughts and walk into an interview composed. This tactic also leaves time for getting lost.” -BusinessInsider

Tournaments are timed games. Get to your table as soon as you can. If you arrive early, start looking at the terrain and think about your game plan. How will you deploy if you get this quarter? How will you deploy if you get the other quarter? Do you want to deploy refuse flank and use the center building for cover?

This is also a tone setting issue. I’ve had games where my opponent showed up late, and he turned out to be a gentlemen and a scholar. We had enough time to finish the game, and we both enjoyed ourselves. I’ve other games where the guy showed up late, and was a total jerk. I remember both of their faces, and maybe their names. Guess how my next game against the jerk is going to go? Probably not good...

7. Focus on the other person

“Talking to much about yourself will make you appear self-centered and bore your listener.

Before your meeting, make a list of all the things you want to know about the other person: How did they get into their line of work? What business partnerships do they already have/are they seeking to cultivate? What are their business aspirations?” -BusinessInsider

This is common sense, and we covered most of it in under point number 2. Engage your opponent; ask questions about their life, their army, and their paint scheme, whatever. Don’t try to bring everything back on yourself that is a fast way to set a bad tone.

“Cool dreadnoughts, I converted MY dreadnoughts from the forge world models. That is a nice paint job, however I prefer to use blue highlights when I paint black models.” Don’t be this guy.

8. Be a good listener

“35 Business studies analyzed by the International Listening Center indicated that listening is a top skill needed for success in business. Unfortunately, most people only retain about 50% of what they hear...React to comments with phrases such as "interesting," "that makes sense," and "could you tell me more about that?" Ask follow up questions; it will show you are engaged in the conversation and care about the subject matter.” -BusinessInsider

This is similar to number 2 and number 7. Just respond when people say things. They are called “listening noises.” Feel free to use the following listening noises:

“Hm”

“Interesting”

“I never thought of doing it that way.”

Spoiler alert: This tactic can also be used with your significant other. Don’t tell them that though.

Additionally, if you listen to them talk, especially if you get them talking about the game, you can start to discern what their strategy might be, or where they feel their lines are the weakest. Use it to your advantage. This is a form of “above the table gaming” that I can condone.

9. Be careful with humor

“Jokes are very hit or miss. One taken the wrong way can send you to social Siberia.

While there is nothing wrong with a little banter, avoid controversial jokes or sarcasm that could be misinterpreted. Everyone is different; before you know someone's sensitivities, it is best to play it safe and tone down the joke attempts.” -BusinessInsider

No political or religious jokes, unless they are regarding 40k fluff. Also, don’t make bad comments about someone’s painting, and while we are at it, be careful that your compliments aren’t backhanded as well.

“That’s a good paint job for someone who has only been playing for a few months.” BACKHAND!

“Gandhi and the Pope walk into a bar...” Not acceptable in a new social situation.

“An Ethereal and a Ministorum Priest walk into a bar...” TOPICAL AND ACCEPTABLE!

10. Bring printed materials with you

“Bringing materials to a first meeting automatically makes you look like a responsible, organized person...The process will make the meeting run smoother and it should impress the person you are meeting. With that said, don't go overboard; they'll think you're a know it all or that you're trying too hard.” -BusinessInsider

Business Insider probably didn’t want this to fit so well with 40k, but it does. Bring your codex, your rulebook, your printed FAQs, dice, a tape measure, models...etc...etc. Be prepared.

I once had a guy walk up to the table with a handful of marines and drop them all on the table. He also had a wrinkled, torn army sheet. My initial impression? Oh dear. However, that turned into an enjoyable and memorable experience. That isn’t always the case though. If our personalities hadn’t have melded well together, then this was the first ingredient in a recipe for a bad game.

11. Do your research

“Know as much as possible about the person you are meeting before you're introduced. You will impress someone immediately if you can ask informed questions about their background and signify that you understand their interests/achievements.

With an abundance of social media tools at your disposal, it should not be difficult to dig up some professional information. You might stumble upon a mutual interest or friend that you can drop into conversation for automatic chemistry.” -BusinessInsider

Research and know the other codexes and the rules. Why? I can see this working on two levels:

1) It will improve your game. You can’t plan for something you don’t know can happen. Knowledge is power, and all that.

2) Asking questions over and over about your opponent’s list can get annoying. Even more so when you try to call foul over it.

“You didn’t tell me your unit could do that! I would have done this if I had known that!” Don’t get to this point. Do your homework, or take this as a lesson hard learned.

12. Relax and be yourself

“Everyone is nervous before a first meeting; there is a lot at stake and the stress can get pretty intense. The more at ease you are, the more the other person can get to know the real you.

Before your meeting, do something that makes you happy: go to the gym, take a bath, listen to music. Instead of focusing on what's at stake, concentrate on pumping yourself up. Make a list of your best qualities, give yourself a pep talk in the mirror, or call a family member or friend who can give you a boost.

During the meeting, pretend you are having a casual cup of coffee with a friend. If you get flustered, don't panic; take a deep breath and keep going. Never assume you are making a bad impression; you never know what the other person is thinking!” -BusinessInsider

Please take a bath, but if I catch you in the bathroom giving yourself a pep talk in front of the mirror, I’ll probably punch you. Just relax, it’s a game. Relaxing doesn’t mean you can’t have an intense, competitive game. It just means take it easy, have fun.

I’ll leave us with a quote from a young George S. Patton, patron saint of Awesome. After losing in a pistol shooting contest where he argued that his later rounds when through the same holes as some of his earlier shots, and the judges contended he simply missed the target altogether, Patton said this (according to wikipedia):

“The high spirit of sportsmanship and generosity manifested throughout speaks volumes for the character of the officers of the present day. There was not a single incident of a protest or any unsportsmanlike quibbling or fighting for points which I may say, marred some of the other civilian competitions at the Olympic Games. Each man did his best and took what fortune sent them like a true soldier, and at the end we all felt more like good friends and comrades than rivals in a severe competition, yet this spirit of friendship in no manner detracted from the zeal with which all strove for success.”

Take what fortune sends you like a true soldier, and strive for success with as much zeal as you can. And stay classy, always.

Da Dakkajet - 4 games in

2012-06-10T18:18:00.001-04:00

So after reading the rules in the latest WD, and seeing all the pics, I knew that I could not pass up on this ork flyer. The model and painting opportunities alone were enough to convince me to drop the 50 spot for it.

So I got my box last Saturday, and hurriedly put it together, as there was a tournament the next weekend and I wanted to try it out. Then I began reading the internet articles about how terrible or overcosted the flyers were, before they had even playtested it! Well, I had to see for myself.

Over the past 72 hours, I have played 4 games with it, 3 of which were in a tournament setting, where Boss Grimgor's Deff Komp'ny pulled 1-0-2 and tied for 3rd overall with BoxerSaint. I played against Pariah Stevo's Venomspam Dark Eldar, Skimmerspam Craftworld Eldar, Space Wolves, and BoxerSaint's Imperial Guard. Needless to say, the Orks faced some stiff competition, and a great test of the Dakka Jet's ability/durability.

In all 4 games, it died only once, falling to Long Fang missiles,and it made an impact in every game. It knocked out venoms, shut down wave serpents/fire prisms, killed razorbacks and saved my objective from being overrun by Gunnery Sergeant Harker and his outflanking band of misfits. I have fallen in love with this plane. It fulfills so many different roles that the Orks currently haqve trouble filling. The list I took -

Boss Grimgor Skulskraga - Ghazghkul Thraka
8 Nobz - 2 Klaws, 2 Big Choppas, Waaagh Banner, Bosspoles, Cybork Bodies, all different equip.
Painboy
Wagon - Deffrolla, Grot Riggers, Red Paint, Armored Plates

Big mek - KFF, Eavy Armor
19 Shoota Boys - Nob w/ BP/PK, big shoota

Wagon - Deffrolla, Grot Riggers, Red Paint, Armored Plates

20 Shoota Boys - Nob w/ BP/PK, 2x big shoota

Wagon - Deffrolla, Grot Riggers, Red Paint, Armored Plates

10 Grotz

3x9 Lootaz

Dakkajet - 3x Supa Shootas, Red Paint, Fighta Ace

I ran the Dakkajet in tandem with the wagons every game, giving the wagon rush some desperately needed shooting, while gaining the 4+ Cover save from the KFF, making for a very survivable AV10. It also became a fire magnet, taking shots away from my wagons, which is always a good thing. It also deflects fire from your lootaz, allowing you to have some serious firepower throughout the game.

Orks have very little in the way of mobile firepower, save buggies, and this thing has it in spades. Including it's 13" move, this thing has an effective range of 43", layin out 9 twin linked shots. And oh what fun it is when you Waaagh, doubling the shot output! Even when facing AV12, this thing is worth every penny, as with that many shots, you are still going to glance, and at minimum shut down their shooting for a turn. Even my opponents were surprised at how well the dakka jet performed.

As for the other two variants, I have not tested them out yet, so I cannot fairly attest to their ability, but I will have to give them a go in the near future.

This lil plane has earned a spot in my WAAAGH!!! and if you play Orks, then I heavily suggest you at least give this thing a try, you won't be disappointed!

Have any stories about the new flyers of your own? Tell us about them below!

Batrep #4!!!!

2012-06-03T16:34:00.000-04:00

Hello bear cubs, Grizzly Adams here, bringing you the latest DDK Batrep, pitting yours truly and his Sons of Sanguinius against our newest contributing member, BoxerSaint and his newest army, the dreaded Tau Empire. We played a Dawn of War ATC mission.

Grizzly Adams' Blood Angels

Reclusiarch
7x Death Company
...3x bp/ccw's, 3x bp/pw's, 1x bp/pf
...Drop Pod

2x Sanguinary Priests
...Jump Pack

10x Assault Marines
...2x flamer, Fist/Infernus Pistol Sergeant

10x Assault Marines
...1x flamer, 1x melta, Fist/Infernus Pistol Sergeant

10x Assault Marines
...2x melta, Fist/Infernus Pistol Sergeant

2x Furioso Dreadnoughts
...frag cannon/heavy flamer, drop pod

2x Baal Predators
...HB Sponsons

Landspeeder Typhoon

BoxerSaint's Tau

Commander Shas'el
...Hard-wired Multi-tracker + Missile Pod + Plasma Rifle + Positional Relay
2 Crisis Bodyguard
...Hard-wired Multi-tracker + Missile Pod + Plasma Rifle + Targeting Array

2 Crisis Battlesuit
...Flamer + Twin Linked Missile Pod

2 Crisis Battlesuit
...Flamer + Twin Linked Missile Pod

2 Stealthsuits
...Blacksun Filter 3)
1 Team Leader
...Targeting Array + Hard-wired Blacksun Filter + Markerlight
2 Marker Drones

6 Fire Warrior

6 Fire Warrior

10 Kroot Carnivore Squad

10 Kroot Carnivore Squad

1 Piranha
...Disruption Pod + Fusion Blaster + Targeting Array x1

5 Pathfinders
1 Devilfish
...Disruption Pod

5 Pathfinders
1 Devilfish
...Disruption Pod

Team Leader
...Hard-wired Blacksun Filter + Hard-wired Target Lock + Advanced Stabilisation System
2 Broadside Battlesuit
...Advanced Stabilisation System
2x Shield Drones

Team Leader
...Hard-wired Blacksun Filter + Hard-wired Target Lock + Advanced Stabilisation System
2 Broadside Battlesuit
...Advanced Stabilisation System
2x Shield Drones

1 Hammerhead Gunship
...Railgun + Two Burst Cannons + Disruption Pod + Multi-Tracker + Blacksun Filter

It was a great game, and fun was had by all.

Well, hope you enjoyed the batrep, and stay tuned for more!

New Flyers!!!

2012-05-30T22:17:00.001-04:00

Well, isn't this exciting, The "summer of flyers" has finally come! The Grizz is mighty excited about it! From a coolness standpoint, I think GW did a great job, with all of the flyers having a cool and unique look befitting the armies to which they belong. I must say, though, that my Orks got the best deal, getting a 3 flyer kit, and some pretty cool rules to boot! My personal favorite is the dakka jet, moving 12" and firing 9 twin linked S6 shots (18 when you WAAAGH!!!). I have one on order and may grab a second if there is one!

On a somewhat related note, I played in an ATC practice tourney Saturday, going 1-2-0 with a 4 wagon Ghazghkul list. I had some terrible pulls, facing an all night/doom scythe army first and a dual wolf lord/dual twc list 3rd. My list I ran---

Boss Grimgor Skulskragga's Deff Komp'ny

Total Roster Cost: 1997

Ghazghkull Thraka
Nobz . . Cybork Bodies
. . Painboy
. . Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Nob . . Waaagh! Banner, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Nob . . Big Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Big Choppa, Twin Linked Shoota
. . Nob . . Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Ammo Runt, Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Eavy Armour, Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

Big Mek . . Eavy Armour, Kustom Force Field
18 Shoota Boyz . . Big Shoota x1
. . Boyz Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

19 Shoota Boyz . . Big Shoota x2
. . Boyz Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

19 Shoota Boyz . . Big Shoota x2
. . Boyz Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

10 Gretchin
. . Runtherd

Deffkopta . . Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha, Buzzsaw

Deffkopta . . Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha, Buzzsaw

Deffkopta . . Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha, Buzzsaw

I think this list would perform very well against standard build Wolves, razorspam, and parking lots. Mobile/skimmer/flyer armies, on the other hand, neutralize it pretty easily. The deffkoptas were practically useless, and I found myself hurting for some range. I will be play testing the Dakka jet, and may throw in some lootas for good measure. We'll just have to see how we do!

Well it's good to be back, hope all is well, till next time!

Maul in the Mall 2012!!

2012-03-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

The Wolves at the Maul

I have returned Dearest Readers from The Maul in the Mall, and I must say fun was had by all. There were a multitude of beautiful armies on parade, with over 40 people in attendance. It was nice to be able to have gotten my Wolves all put together, painted, and based, something long overdue. I ended up with some really interesting match ups, playing against two 4th edition codexes and one that the Interwebz has deemed uncompetitive. My Wolves went 1-2-0 for a total of 20 battlepoints out of a possible 60. Not the greatest showing on my part, but I had fun, and isn't that what matters? Fellow DDK Bloggers Pariah Stevo and Wiley the Nord were in attendance, with Wiley snagging Best Sportsman.

Armies on Parade

Danny's Tau Army

Game One

The first game was against my buddy Danny from Cookeville playing his Tau, a table quarter objective game with 1st and 6th turn being night fighting. I went second against a Farsight/Crisis Suit/Blacksun Filter/Missile Pod army. Lets just say that his first 2 turns of shooting were devastating, and not one of my models ever made it halfway across the board.I ended up with 2 battle boints for having my drop pod in his deployment zone, he got everything else.

Andy's Kroot / Nids

Thor Starin Down a "Trygon"

So after such a butt whoopin, I figured, "Can't get any worse, Right?" So I go into the next game ready to lay the smack down, playing the 5 objective mission that we did the battle report on previously.

I come up against Andy, a nice enough fella with his Kroot "Counts As" Tyranids, a really cool army that, when finished, will be a true testament to what "Counts As' is. He ran 2 Tyrants, 2 Tervigons, 2 Trygons, a Tyrannofex, a few gaunt squads and genestealers. The table really hurt me, as the centerpiece blocked nearly half of the table from LOS, and I did not deploy as intelligently as I could have. This led to it taking me way too long to kill his big bugs, and his ability to control the table. His shooting was very effective too, and I ended up losing the game 3 obj's to 1, with 1 contested. I was extremely frustrated with myself after this game, as I believed that I was capable of much better play and could have put myself in a better chance to tie/win. But i did not, and Andy took advantage of my mental lapses and played a great game.

Bart's Beautiful Black Templars

So on we went to the Third game, the Classic Maul in the Mall mission, the mission that up to that point, I had never lost, going 4-0-0 thus far. I get paired up with Bart and his fantastic Black Templar, which ended up taking best painted.

Thor Sees His Big, Juicy AV14 Target

Once again I am on a board with severe LOS blocking terrain, with spearhead deployment. Not good when you are facing up against assault armies. Luckily, his Landraider-O-Doom with Helbrecht/Emp. Champ/Chaplain/Crusaders immobilized itself in his deployment zone. This game was a ton of fun, with things dying all over the place. coming into the last turn, we were almost dead locked on victory points, with Bart having the edge by about 100vp's.

Long Fangs Preparing for the Charge

On the bottom of 5, i was able to finish off a terminator squad, kill his general Helbrecht, kill the Landraider, and take out 2 squads of Crusaders, tallying over 900vp's in one turn, winning me the game, and keeping my streak on the mission alive. To play on the same table with an army as beautiful as Bart's was simply a pleasure, and made for an even greater experience.

So All in all, a great tournament and some great opponents. I would have loved to have had a better W-L-T record, but hey, can't win em all. Now the priority will be to get crankin on the Grey Knights to get them ready for this year's American Team Championships. I picked up a hard copy of the codex while at the tournament, and am very excited about getting this army together. More pics below of all the goings on at tne Maul. Grizz, signing out.

Ride: Busted

Wiley the Nord's Grey Knight Army

New Tyrannofex

Thor and His Drinking Buddies Dismounting

Video Batrep # 3!!!

2012-03-22T20:29:00.001-04:00

Welcome all to our 3rd Video Batrep here on Da Deff Komp'ny! This video pits Yours Truly against my buddy Rex and his Ultramarines. We are playing 1850 pts in preperation for this Saturday's Maul in the Mall.The Mission we are playing is also from the Maul, titled "The Maul Rats".

2012 40k Mission #3 "The Maul Rats"

“I love da’ smell o’ commerce in da’ mornin’!”
DEPLOYMENT: Modified Dawn of War (40k Rulebook pg 93.) NO Nightfight will be used. “Seize the Initiative” May be used.
Number of Turns: Random Game Length.

SPECIAL RULES: The Characters: Before deployment, the player that deploys first chooses ONE unit in their army to be ”Jay & Silent Bob” and ONE unit in their army to be “LaFours”. The other player then chooses ONE unit in their army to be “Brodie & T.S.” ” and ONE unit in their army to be “Brandi’s Dad”.

Primary Objective “This is MY Mall” – Use the Seize Ground Mission Rules per the 40k Rulebook (page 91) with the following Exceptions – 1.) ALL units in your army count as Scoring Units. 2.) Every Table will automatically have 5 Objectives. Each objective counts as one of Five Different places in the Mall: The Game Show Stage, The Easter Bunny, Stan Lee, “Time For Cookies” and The Sailboat Picture.

Secondary Objective “Do all there is to do at the Mall” – If you have CONTROLED EACH of the Objectives at ANY TIME during the game you achieve this objective. You DO NOT have to have controlled them all at the same time. Players should note every Objective when they control it DURING the game. Both players may claim this objective.

Tertiary Objective “Win back the girls and Fly Fat A5$ Fly!” – If your Brodie & T.S. or your Jay & Silent Bob are still alive and not fleeing at the end of the game AND your opponents LaFours or Brandi’s Dad is dead or fleeing at the end of the game, you score this objective. Both players may claim this objective.

The List I brought:

HQ
Rune Priest
jaws of the world wolf; living lightning; chooser of the slain.

Troops
7 Grey Hunters
meltagun; mark of the wulfen; wolf standard.
• Arjac Rockfist
• Drop Pod

9 Grey Hunters
meltagun; mark of the wulfen; wolf standard.
• Wolf Guard: power fist; combi-weapon.
• Rhino

9 Grey Hunters
meltagun; mark of the wulfen; wolf standard.
• Wolf Guard: power fist; combi-weapon.
• Rhino

5 Grey Hunters
meltagun.
• Razorback: lascannon+tl plasmagun.

5 Grey Hunters
meltagun.
• Razorback: lascannon+tl plasmagun.

Heavy Support
Long Fangs
2× lascannon, 3x missile launchers

Long Fangs
2× lascannons, 3x missile launchers

Long Fangs
2× lascannon, 3x missile launchers
• Razorback: lascannon+tl plasmagun

My opponent Rex was playing his Ultramarines:

2x TDA Librarians w/ Storm Shields

5x TH/SS Terminators

Land Raider Crusader

2x10 Tac Squads in Rhinos
...Plasma Cannon, Melta, Combi Melta

1x10 Tac Squad in Rhinos
...Multi Melta, Melta, Combi Melta

2x Dual Autocannon Dreadnoughts

2x Predator Destructors w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons

All in all a great game, one that I was about 90% positive was lost by the end of turn 2. When you lose 45% of your long fangs and not one of them has had a chance to fire a shot yet, there tends to be trouble. But the wolves hung tough and made their shots/assaults count, and finally turned the tide back in my favor.

Rex always makes for a great opponent and a tough game, so big thanks to him for allowing us to video our game! I am really liking this list, as it has bodies, assault capabilities, and a massive dakka factor. Hopefully it will still be playing well come Saturday!

Thanks for checkin out our Batrep, Until Next Time, Take It Easy!!

T Minus 6 Days till The Maul!!

2012-03-18T21:46:00.001-04:00

Evening readers, Your friendly neighborhood Grizz here. This post was originally going to be a treat for y'all in the form of a video battle report. Unfortunately, as soon as I began filming, my Flip Cam died. Go me.

So instead, I am going to let y'all in on my progress preparing for this year's Maul in the Mall tournament. I have been tirelessly working the past two days trying to get my beloved Space Wolves into proper form, something that has been long overdue!

We are on our way to finishing, with all but 8 models and 2 razorbacks left to paint. Everything has actually went alot faster than initially anticipated, so it seems that I will actually have a completely painted/based army in time for the tourney!

The Painted Part Minus the 2 Razorbacks

What's Left

The army I plan on taking;

HQ
Rune Priest
jaws of the world wolf; living lightning; chooser of the slain.

Troops
7 Grey Hunters
meltagun; mark of the wulfen; wolf standard.
• Arjac Rockfist
• Drop Pod

9 Grey Hunters
meltagun; mark of the wulfen; wolf standard.
• Wolf Guard: power fist; combi-weapon.
• Rhino

9 Grey Hunters
meltagun; mark of the wulfen; wolf standard.
• Wolf Guard: power fist; combi-weapon.
• Rhino

5 Grey Hunters
meltagun.
• Razorback: lascannon+tl plasmagun.

5 Grey Hunters
meltagun.
• Razorback: lascannon+tl plasmagun.

Heavy Support
Long Fangs
2× lascannon, 3x missile launchers

Long Fangs
2× lascannons, 3x missile launchers

Long Fangs
2× lascannon, 3x missile launchers
• Razorback: lascannon+tl plasmagun.

You can expect multiple updates this week of my progress, and upon completion, some close ups of the army. Until then, I'll leave you with a shot of my Counts-As Arjac, Thor, Red Moon's Champion.

Tourney Ideas

2012-03-14T07:48:00.001-04:00

So yesterday I was building lists in preparation for this year's Maul In The Mall tournament, and it got me to thinking..."you know what would be fun? A tournament that forced you to build lists out of your element, made you take things you normally would not." the more I thought about it, the more enamored with the idea I became.

It seems that when I build a list, I have all these "go-to" units that I always take, making most of my builds play the same. And since 95% of the games I play are at the 2000 pt level, I have very little variation.

So I began to think about ideas to encourage change but keep it fun. So I came up with a few limitations to the list builds. The first was that each codex entry was 0-1, meaning that no entry could be taken more than once, except for troops/transports, which can be taken only twice. For example, my wolves would be limited to one rune priest and 2 grey hunter squads.

Now some of you may be saying, "Come on Grizz, this is just a nice way of trying to eliminate spam armies". Well, yes and no. With this setup, yes it eliminates spamming, but my intent is based solely on the purpose of people bringing lists that are off the wall and different than what we've all been playing, not because I hate spam and think its lame/waac/whatever.

I have no problem with multiple identical units, I just want something a little different. It's like I love steak, but every now and then a bucket of extra crispy fried chicken is kinda nice.

Another way to make it different is to change the points level, which I am thinkin around 1500. This changes everything about list building. Units that are great/suck at 2000pts may be suck/great at a different point level.

The whole idea behind this is for everyone involved to have fun and to build/try things that may may have never done before. It keeps things fresh and new.

So what do we think about the Grizz's tournament ideas? How do you feel about atypical tourneys, or tourneys that encourage different list builds or have off the wall missions?

Thunderwolf Cav, ASSEMBLE!!!

2012-03-04T19:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I came home with an unopened box of Thunderwolf Cav. This evening, I present to you, my dear followers, is what they look like out of the box.

The Wolfpack

To the Right, To the Right...

...To the Left, To the Left.

TH/SS Close Up

BP/CCW

CCW/SS

The new Wolfkind with Lord Red Moon

The Pack Is on the Prowl...

The TWC kit in my opinion may be one of the best GW has produced to date. They go together great, have all kinds of interchangeable parts, and are a lot of fun to paint. The models have a crap ton of character, and are very dynamic. I am almost sad to have finished them :(

If you play wolves and haven't picked up a box of these yet, do yourself a favor and pay a visit to your FLGS and pick up a box. You won't be disappointed!

So what do we think, did The Grizz do the new kit justice, or has he failed horribly? Your comments below!

Maul In the Maul Prep Tourney

2012-03-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

Well Bear Cubs, I played in a Maul in the Mall Prep tourney this morning, and did I have a blast! For those of you who don't know, the Maul in the Mall is an annual tournament put on by Dicehead Games of Cleveland that I have been going to since 2004. It is a lot of fun, and really what got me into playing in big events/tourneys across the state. Anyway, this year's Maul is March 24, and will be at Bradley Square Mall in Cleveland, TN. It's an 1850pt tourney, and should be a blast. If you live in the area, or even if you don't, you should come on down and meet Da Deff Komp'ny Krew.

Anyways, today was a dry run, where we tried out all the MITM missions, which can be found HERE. I have been tinkering around with my Space Wolves, and have come up with a list that I am very happy with. Having never played in an 1850pt tourney before (MITM is usually 2000) I was slightly nervous about how my list building would fare.

2000 Pts - Space Wolves Roster
Total Roster Cost: 1850

Arjac Rockfist
8 Grey Hunters Pack
...Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Meltagun
...Drop Pod

Lone Wolf in Terminator Armour
...Combi-Meltagun, Chain Fist

4 Wolf Guard in Power Armour
...Combi-Meltagun, Power Fist
4x5 Grey Hunters Pack
...Meltagun
...Razorback
......Lascannon and TL Plasmagun

Rune Priest in Power Armour
...Chooser of the Slain
3x6 Long Fangs Pack
...Lascannon x2, Missile Launcher x3

The tournament was a Power Armored affair, with only 2 armies not rollin with the 3+. The army breakdown was;

Space Wolves - 4
Grey Knights - 1
Imperial Guard - 1
Eldar - 1
Blood Angels - 1
Chaos Space Marines - 1
Dark Angels (DW) - 1

As it all played out, I played Space Wolves in every round, going 2-0-1 and tying the Grey Knight player for 2nd, with the Guard taking the top spot. Overall, the list played well, and I will be using the basic format in my 2000pt list from here on out.

On a somewhat unrelated note - I Has Thunderwolves!!!11!!11!!! Picked up a box of TWC and Fenrisian Wolves while at Dicehead, so I will be doing a model breakdown/painting overview later on. Till next time, Peace!

New Models this Saturday, Whos in?

2012-03-01T10:41:00.001-05:00

Well bear cubs, the wait is finally over! All those models that we sat around and wondered "why is GW not making these?!?!" are on their way! And let me be the first to tell you, I am excited!

We have been waiting a long time for twc/tervigons an the like, and I must say, the models do not disappoint! I never cared for any of the off brand wolves, and these new models blow any of them out of the water.

These new models have motivated me to put some twc back in my list, and I will be posting lists and results in the future.

What do y'all think of the new stuff?? How many of you have already ordered some??

Back To Business

2012-02-20T16:42:00.002-05:00

Ok, followers, we are back in business!! Sorry about the lag, life happened, and computers crashed and a bunch of other excuses that y'all don't care about! The important thing is that Da Deff Komp'ny is back, and will be regulary updated, at least weekly. So what has happened since our last visit? The Grizz has raised his army count to 5 with the addition of some new Grey Knight stuff. What does this mean for you guys? One more thing to listen to me blather about and post pictures about. So without further adieu, some pics of my new stuff!

Armies on Parade!!!

Purifier and My Grand Master (Don't worry, we will drill those barrels out!!)

What I have painted right now

The plan is to paint everything before I put it together, that way when I am done I will have a completely painted 2000pt army from the getgo. Keep your eyes open for updates, let me know what you think about the new painted mini's, and hopefully we'll have a video batrep in store for you next week! Stay Tuned!!!

Return From Battle From Supremacy!

2011-12-06T15:51:00.001-05:00

Well Pariah Stevo and Myself have returned from Murfreesboro with a bag full of schwag and smiles on our faces. We finished the day with a record of 3W-0L-0T against a field of 23 teams, and came in 2nd overall, with fellow collaborator Wiley The Nord and his partner Necronian getting best painted, so not a bad outing for Da Deff Komp'ny team. There were some great armies on display, with equally great competion behind them. We decided last week to run an Ork/Dark Eldar matchup, relying on multiple scoring units and lots-o-dakka to win the day. Our lists -

ORKS

Big Mek - KFF
11 Shoota Boys
...Big Shoota, Nob w/ Bosspole/Power Klaw
...Trukk - Boarding Planks, Red Paint, Reinforced Ram

12 Shoota Boys
...Big Shoota, Nob w/ Bosspole/Power Klaw
...Trukk - Boarding Planks, Red Paint, Reinforced Ram

12 Shoota Boys
...Big Shoota, Nob w/ Bosspole/Power Klaw
...Trukk - Boarding Planks, Red Paint, Reinforced Ram

2x14 Lootas

DARK ELDAR

Haemonculous
...Liquefier Gun, Mindphase Gauntlet
4x Wracks
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

5x Wracks
...Liquefier Gun
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

5x Wracks
...Liquefier Gun
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

4x Trueborn
...4x Blasts
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

5x Scourges
...2x Haywire Blasters

2x Ravagers
...Night Shields, Flicker Fields, Shock Prows
-------------------------------------------------------------

We were pleased with the way the list played, this bad boy pumps out some serious shots. The big Loota squads complement the DE well, and if you need to go punch somethin in the mouth, you can throw 2-3 trukks worth of boys at em. We played against some great opposition, who stretched this list to its limits. This may definitely become a more common list we try to take to team tourneys.

Regardless, we walked out of Grand Adventures with 50 bucks a piece worth of free GW product, which is always a nice thing. Battle For Supremacy was a well run tourney, especially considering the venue was changed due to circumstances beyond their control less than 2 weeks before the event. I will definitely have to put it on my calendar for next year, and you should too!

1000pts In 7 Days, and Other Orkish Ramblings

2011-11-27T14:51:00.001-05:00

Hey folks, Grizz here. Wiley, Pariah.Stevo (or should I say Lychguard.Stevo now :D ) and myself are headin to Murfreesboro TN to play in the Battle For Supremacy Team tournament this Saturday. After much discussion between Stevo and myself, we finally decided on our armies and lists two days ago. The awesome part? This will be my first tournament rockin my new orks. The bad part? I have 7 boys painted, and that's it. So, it shall be a busy week for the Grizz. I will be takin pics and updating y'all on my progress!

In other news, I got my first couple games in with my Orks, and got the opportunity to play against the brand new Necrons. Orks may be the funnest army I have ever played. Ever. When you are laughin your butt off while losing, you know you are playing something you enjoy. I played mine/stevo's team lists while he got to try out his new Necron dex using his very first army. Having not even glanced through the codex before, our first game was full of interesting surprises.

Things I noticed in 2 games against them-

1) The Stormlord is pretty sweet. He was definitely the MVP of Game 1, as his nightfighting rules lasted for 4 turns, completely nerfing my shooting. The Lightning attacks were consistently hitting 2 units/tanks a turn, and doing serious damage.

2) Tomb Blades are awesome. Jetbikes with S6 blasts? Yeah, they are the bee's knees. There is something to be said about mobile firepower, and boy the Tomb Blades have it in spades.

3) Scarabs are as annoying as the interwebz say they are. They dominate vehicles, and don't die very easily. Adding Tomb Spiders makes them just stupid.

4) Warriors, in my opinion, aren't as bad as people think they are. They are still LD 10, and are rockin Gauss weapons. No, they are not something you wanna just throw at the enemy, but they will make for some great objective holders and HQ hidey squads.

All in all, I think that the new Cron codex has a lot of flavor, and is a very synergistic book, with all components in your army working together in order to prevail. I am eager to see what the Necron people are going to be bringing to the table, and what units they play.

If y'all are free this weekend and wanna get some 40k in, you should call Grand Adventures in Murfreesboro and sign up! Maybe we'll see you there!

Crypteks Workshop: Necron Tomb Blades WIP

2011-11-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

Hey guys. Today I wanted to show ya'll what I have been up to during my first weekend off in ages. First off, I'm sorry for the bad cell phone pics. My phone really is old and terrible ( too much 40k being the obvious cause.) As usually with a new codex, There are many models that just don't have a model yet, but of course we want our new shinys NOW!!! The only down side to this is that, if you spend tons of cash making your kustom models it is very difficult when GW actually makes a model, cuz then you kustom jobs look like dump in comparison to the new ones. So the trick is to make something that is obviously what it is intended to represent, without setting you back a couple of hundred. If you get lucky, the new creation may be good enough to continue to use even after the new ones come out, but making it look perfect, or to perfectly match the concept drawing, shouldn't be the primary goal in such a conversion. In fact, going of the concept is not always the best idea, as GW has been known to change there minds.

Codex Concept pic

Later released model

This is where Multi-unit boxes come in. Multi-unit boxes have their pros and cons(which is a different article all together), but it does leave you with tons and tons of unused bits. Xenos races in general can take advantage of this. Xenos conversions need to hit a certain "style note" to match the rest of the range. Using unused bits from Multi-unit boxes is great way to achieve this, you just have to be creative.

Almost every bit in this conversion is unused bits from the Immortal/ Deathmark kit and the Triach/ Lychguard kit. Obviously bits from the warrior kit were used. I did use was the front ram bit from the DE Raider kit. (f.y.i. any DE player has about 10 extra lying around and would probably just give you a few if you need them)

Running Late. I will add a few more pics later. What to you think? do they look ok?, or are they dumb lookin'?

Boss Grimgor Skulskraga, Baddest ov da Evil Sunz

2011-10-30T02:39:00.002-04:00

So, I finally got my Finecast Ghazghkull Thraka model in, and let me tell ya, this model is EPIC! It's light, goes together like pie, paints like a dream, and looks utterly badass.What more could one ask for? So, needless to say, as soon as I got home I began painting this bad boy. I am pretty pleased with him, and I am very glad that I was able to duplicate the battle damage highlight effect that I liked so much on my first bike. What do y'all think?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE!!!!

Just coated ol Gromgor in a devlan mud wash, to give him a more dirty look

There he is, Boss Grimgor Skulskraga, ready to lead his Evil Sunz into glorious Battle!! How did The Grizz Do?? Let us know, Down Below!!

Dark Eldar or bust...

2011-10-24T21:47:00.001-04:00

So I have committed to Adepitcon this year, going with some folks from Murfreesboro. We will be doing the 4 man team tournament, I'm pretty stoked!

But that's another story for another post.

I'm here to discuss the 40k championships! I plan to have Dark Eldar painted and ready to go by then. You can see a few of my models attached to this post, still WIP but getting closer.

I'm considering a list like this:
Kabal of the Emerald Serpent - 1850

Haemmie

3 X 3 blaster armed trueborn
Venom with extra splinter cannon and night shields

4 X 5 warriors with blaster
Venom with extra splinter cannon and night shields

10 Wracks with 2 liquors
Raider with night shields, flickerfield, shock prow

7 Wyches with 1 hydra gauntlet
1 Hekatrix with Agonizer
Raider with night shields, flickerfield, shock prow

3 X 1 Ravager with 3 dark lances, night shields, flickerfield

I've been pretty successful with it at 2k with an extra haemmie and more Wyches so I expect similar play from this list. The only downside is the painting...time to get cracking!

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WAAAGH!!! Grimgor has begun!!!

2011-10-21T00:25:00.001-04:00

Hey all, made it up to Dicehead Games today and walked out with a big bag of Orks and a smile. WAAAGH Grimgor has begun!!! So I began puttin them together and tryin out paint schemes. I am not going for Golden Daemon, just somethin that looks good on the table and paints quickly. So here is some phone pics of my first Boy!

So, What we think? Awesome? Crapola? Somewhere in between? Let us know down below!!

Every Other Blog I have read Today!!!

2011-10-14T20:13:00.001-04:00

Necrons pics were leaked. They look cool. Gamesworkshop is expensive, so it sucks.....

What the eff, man? Necrons were my first army. I don't care what they cost. IF i got the cash, im buying them. The last couple of codices were amazing. The models have been fantastic. The last XENOS release was one of the biggest, most beautiful model ranges the GW has ever released. GW is expensive. Deal.... And I'm spent.

The Grizz Goes WAAAGH!!!

2011-10-09T01:44:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, Yours Truly was sitting in his man room surveying all of his Warhammer armies. As I looked at each army, I was reminded of all the great games, fun paint schemes, and unique conversions that each army possessed. Then, at the end of the line, were my Tyranids. I looked at the paint scheme, a striking yet difficult pain in the butt job. I then thought of all the fun games I had with them - none. I then began to wonder why I even had this army.

I didn't enjoy painting them, converting them was okay, and playing them was never an enjoyable experience, as I never had a good chance at winning. I didn't enjoy the playstyle, and I would never get them finished painted. So I decided to rid myself of the infestation and switch to a Xenos army a little more of the fungal variety.

So Friday I picked up Codex: Orks. I have always had a fascination with the Orks. They have some of the best fluff/models/conversion abilities in the game. They play on the table just like they fight in the fluff, which to me is a big bonus. And with my buddy Pariah Stevo living 90 miles away, I don't get to play against them as often as I'd like, so now I have an excuse to indulge my inner ork. So today I began paint testing for Boss Grimgor Skulskragga's Mighty WAAAGH!!!

I decided on the Evil Sunz Clan, more or less because "da red wuns go Fasta!!!" and I really liked the scheme. So I tested my skills on a warbike. Sorry about the phone pics, but otherwise I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, other than the white, still not completely pleased with it, but anyway without further ado, I give you my first Ork Paintjob.

So, what do we think? Awesome? Suck? Somewhere in between? Let us know in the comments below!

Food for Thought: MSU Assault Armies?!?!?!?! and Lovely Ladies

2011-10-03T23:05:00.001-04:00

Cuz this blog is about collectin' 'eads!!!

Hi everyone!!! I've had and idea floating around in my head. It is not hard to go to a tournament and see what type of armies are winning now a days. Razor-spam, Venom-spam, Leafblower Guard, they all have three things in common, Multiple Units, Multiple Vehicles, and Shooty as Heck.
The other Idea I have been having is that assualt in dead, why? because with the last 2 Codices to come out are insanely shooty. Add that to the Shootyness of Guard and Space Wolves and you have one shooty meta-game. It is kinda starting to remind me of 4th ed. :(
The thing is, I prefer assault armies, so My question is this: Can the MSU principle be adapted to assault oriented lists? Normally it can't. Why? Because assault units are generally twice as expensive as Shooty ones. Anyhow, I present to you two 2000pt lists that I think can take advantage.of MSU and still collect some heads in the process. The theme is cheap power weapons, cheep transports, and cheap anti tank.

GK Death Cult Assassin List 2000pts

Armor? It feels good when a Bolter makes your chest explode.

GK Death Cult Assassin List 2000pts

Inquisitor Coteaz
Xenos Inq. w/ Hammerhand, Force weapon, Digital weapons, Pychostroke Grenades, Rad Grenades

Elites
Vindicare Assassin

Ven. Psy-Rifle Dread

Troops
6 X Henchman Squads: 5 Death Cult Assasins, 3 Warriors w/ Melta guns, 1 Warrior w/ target on forehead (ablative wound) in Chimera

Heavy
3 X Psy-Rifle Dreads

Total 1999pts.
I like this list. 10 armor 12 vehicles, 18 melta guns, 18 Mult-laser shots, 16 TL rifleman shots. I'm really thinking about building this one putting it on the table top.

Dark Eldar MSU assault.

Armor? It feels good when a Bolter makes your chest explode

Archon w/ Agoniser, Blast Pistol, Haywire Grenades, combat Drugs, Shado Field

Drazhar

Elites
3 X 4 Man Incubi Squad w/ Venom

Troops
6 X 5 Wyches w/ 1 Hydra Gauntlets
Hekatrix w/ Blast Pistol, Venom blade
Venom

Heavy
3 Ravangers

Ok, I know Drazhar doesn't fit the cheap catagorey, but I love him. One reason I love him is he fixes two of the main issues of incubi: Leadership and Anti Tank. I also know that all the blast pistols are in unusually places, but I think Wyches are prime for what im looking for and the anti is much needed.

So that is about it. I think next post I might try a MSU Ork List and see how it goes. What kind of MSU Assault lists can you come up with. Feel free to post whatever list you can come up with? How good do you think the lists I came up with will do?

Noise Marines... The Forgotten Cultist?

2011-09-28T18:07:00.000-04:00

When building a Chaos list (who does that anymore, I mean really...) many skip over the lowly CSM's and go straight for the Cult Marines. Obvious choice really, as the cult marines can do some pretty cool stuff. So naturally you see a lot off Chaos lists runnin the immovable Plague Marines, or the close combat baddies, the Khorne Bezerkers. I've even seen entire armies built on the backs of those 4++ Thousand Sons. One thing missing from this list is Slaanesh's own, the Noise Marines.

Why do we not see more units of Noise Marines on the table? Possibly because Plague Marines and Bezerkers are the "obvious choices" in the book. The interwebz tells us that old codexes only have one way to play competitively, and all other choices are suck. Now while based in truth, this generalization can really keep people from finding out that some units are exactly what their army needed.

All the fellers can switch from the regular ol' bolter to the Sonic Blaster, essentially making their bolter either Assault 2 or Heavy 3. Doesnt sound like much but being able to double tap a bolter then charge in at I5 with 3 attacks a piece is sweet.

I like to think that they rock out to Poison
and White Snake while they flay the skin from
Your Bones

Then one dude can get the almighty Blastmaster. This may be my favorite gun in the effin game. It has two different settings, an assault and a heavy, that both cause pinning. The assault is basically a heavy bolter with one less shot. Okay, not too bad. The heavy is where it gets fun. Imagine a krak missile with a small blast. Yeah, buh bye MEQs. This thing is awesome. It can pop tanks, kill infantry, take out heavy infantry, I mean it can do it all.

The last cool thing is the Doom Siren. It is a champion upgrade, and it packs a wallop. It is a heavy flamer that is ap3. Let me repeat that. It is an AP 3 Flamer. Basically you roll up to your opponent and say, "Lets play pick up your marines on a 3+". This unit now has a crapton of killin power.

Now comes the question, "Well how do we use these guys?". Well glad you asked. This unit can't take a beating like plague marines, Nor can it charge into battle like Bezerkers. The Noise Marines are more of a thinking man's unit. I tend to run Chaos squads in their sacred number, as I think it brings good luck, and it also tends to put the unit at the right point cost, not too high nor too low.

Therefore I run them in squads of 6 in a rhino. I start them out as fire support, sitting on my objective in C&C, anchoring the back line and using their blastmasters to take out high priority targets, while the rest of the army surges forward. This gives your army a solid choice for objective sitting, while giving you a few more shots.

The great thing about these guys is their ability to protect your objectives. I am currently running two squads. Now to the untrained opponent, 12 guys in rhinos on an objective doesn't seem like much. This is where the unit excels. These puppies. can pop out and dump 8 Bolter shots, 2 Heavy Bolter shots, and a AP 3 flamer shot per unit. Then you charge in and wipe out whats left. Very little can take that many shots and the subsequent charge.

For an example, here is the list that I am currently runnin.

Abaddon

7x Plague Marines

...2x Melta, Fisty Champ w/ combimelta

Land Raider - EA, Dozer Blade

Kharn the Betrayer

8x Zerkers

...Fisty Champ

Land Raider - EA, Dozer Blade

2x6 Noise Marines

...4x Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster, Champ w/ Doom Siren

Rhino

2x Oblits

1999pts.

In this list, the 2 Raiders are free to go and rock face and such, while my Noise Marines hang back and hold my objective (or the closest ones to my side of the board). With pure 'Zerker and Nurgle armies, it sucks leaving one of those squads back, with Noise Marines, you won't have to.They excel at this fire support role, but are no slouch when the enemy closes in.

Well thats all for today, I have been having a blast pulling the Chaos out and giving them a whirl. It is fun to watch a list out of an outdated codex play well, and if you've got your chaos on the shelf, I encourage you to pull 'em out and let the most characterful army in 40k march the fields of battle once again for the Dark Pantheon. Until next time, Grizz Out!

Ard Boyz Semis, quick and dirty...

2011-09-20T23:12:00.001-04:00

I lost.
But good things happened too!
I qualified with my razorspam Blood Angels list, but I wanted to try something new for the Semis, so I mixed it up with a nasty Coteaz henchmen list:
Coteaz, Grandmaster with tons of grenades, 3 venerable pysriflemen, 4 Henchmen squads that were just 3 warriors with melta, 1 shooty Henchmen squad with 3 plasma cannons, 3 jokers and warriors, a squad with 7 DCA and 3 flamer warriors all with psybolt razors, a stormraven (for the Grandmaster and dca squad) and 3 psyriflemen dreads.
First mission was "messenger", nominate a troop model to be the messenger, get it into your enemy's deployment zone for a vp bonus, victory points to win. I rolled up my buddy Tommy (Puma713) he was playing mech BA, with Mephisty, 2 LR, Asscannon razors and a vindy for good measure. I did well up till turn 3 and for some reason I had a lapse of reason and moved my 3 venerable dreads towards his LR and got triple charged by fnp termies, swinging kps in his favor, I never really recovered and he got a major victory.
Bound to annihilate my next opponent I roll up Jeff in the "get more scoring units within 6" of the center" mission. Jeff was a nice guy and his list probably could have done well on this mission, he played horde orks with ghazzie ambushing with snikrot. Had he walked ghazzie up the center of the board I think he wins...but I roll grand strategy and get a 4 choosing 2 ven dreads to score. Then I get first turn...I think after my alpha strike I had killed both looted wagons, the battlewagon, his looks, a unit of stormboyz and around 17 boyz...massacred him in 4 turns.
I felt pretty good after my massacre because a lot of folks tied the second mission, my next opponent was Clay from Mobile, AL playing Draigowing. I anticipate a massacre since I have twice as many shots per turn as he has models. We roll for deployment and he chooses a quarter with the biggest piece of LoS blocking terrain I have ever seen...literally. It was 20" long, 6" wide and 5" tall....this is gonna suck...Coteaz sees me sieze on my second try and I do what I can to shoot him, Immobilizing his stormraven and killing a 5 man purified squad. Second turn I killed some pallies and then immobilized the LR, I'm feeling better! Turn 3 time to roll the mission (roll a d6 at start of 3 to determine mission, kp quarters or hold terrain) I pray for quarters or terrain, but the emperor didn't hear my cries...kp. my army has 23 available kps, his has 9...he wins 6-5 with only 5 models on the table...I hate life...
Grats to my fellow Fixed Dicer Rob Blackwell on second!

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Space Marine - First Impressions

2011-09-20T12:49:00.002-04:00

Hey all, The Grizz here. Since yesterday the couch and my butt have been inseparable. "Why is your posterior unable to remove itself from directly in front of your Plasma Screen Grizz?" you ask. "Two words," I utter, "Space Marine".

Words cannot describe the nerdgasm that is Space Marine. From the time I put it in the Xbox I have been hooked. The campaign is a lot of fun. You are a Space Marine captain deployed to a forge world overrun by an Ork Horde. It is up to you and your veterans to save the planet and vanquish the Green Tide. Oh yeah, and there's daemons. Take that.

The missions are pretty straight forward, and the controls are easy to get a handle on. The Melee system is pretty neat, and allows for some Tekken-esqe combos. Nothing about the gameplay is awkward, everything flows pretty smoothly. The only thing that I have missed is the Gears of War cover style. There is no way to properly hide behind cover, but then again You are an Astartes, a Captain no less, so maybe cover isn't a big concern for you.

pshh Cover, Who needs that?

You get a multitude of weapons, each with a different purpose (wait till you vape an ork with a meltagun for the first time, nothing but red mist and a "HOLY SH---!!!!!!" ). All of the wepons save one is from the actual 40k universe, so it should look pretty familiar.

The multiplayer is a blast. There are only two types of games thus far, Seize Ground and Annihilation (see what they did there?) , but honestly, when you play CoD or Halo, how often do you deviate from slayer/deathmatch? You level up much like CoD, to a maximum of 41 (41 levels, 41st Millenium, if you haven't noticed there is a theme here..) and gain new weapons, perks, and armor along the way. The real cool part of multiplayer, however, is the customizer.

This allows you to make your own chapter to play with in multiplayer. And believe me, whatever your chapter looks like, you can make it in the customizer. In the paint section, all the GW paints are in there. So if you painted your Marines Mechrite Red, you go over to the colors and select Mechrite Red. Pretty cool, Right? Last night I was literally up till 2am paintin power armor. The Chaos armor is the same way. So if you can dream it, you can fight against other nerds over the internet wearing it!

Graphics = Epic

The Graphics really are top notch. Everything is rendered smoothly, the Space Marines look amazing, the world is all grimdarkly proper. Usually games like this lack in either graphics, story, or gameplay, with the company just trying to scrape as much money as they can out of the title alone. As much as we bitch and moan about Games Workshop bein too overprotective of their IP, it made Space Marine what it is -epic. GW doesn't want their IP to go to the crapper, so they made sure that everything was right and perfect. Honestly that is what made the game for me, how you can tell that GW wanted it done right.

Relic/THQ nailed it. There is no other way to say it. The Ultramarines act just the way one would expect an Ultramarine to act. The Guardsmen look/act just like Guardsmen. A bolter looks and sounds just like I always thought it would, I mean I could go on and on. This game is 100% 40k and 100% fun. As a 40k fanatic and a video game nerd, its like a double whammy of awesome.

Oh yeah, did I mention you get to shoot Storm Boyz out of a Valkyrie?

The greatest element to this game as far as getting you into character, however, is the health system. Your health doesn't regenerate, there are no health packs. There is only one way to regain health - kill. By doing certain attacks, you regain health. And once you've killed a multitudinous amount of crap you can unleash your Fury Meter. This also fills your health, and makes you uber marine, boosting damage output.

This element is integral to this game, as when you are hurt, you aren't looking for a place to hide, nor are you running from your enemy. You wipe the blood from your mouth, heft your chainsword, and charge straight into the horde, killing all that stands before you. That is what it means to be an Angel of Death, to Know No Fear. That dynamic is what makes Space Marine great. They put you in the power armor and tell you to " 'Ave a go at 'em".

Now I know that it seems like this post is a whole lot of "blah blah awesome game blah blah cool great blah", but in all honesty, if you love this hobby like I do and are into video games, there is just no way you can pass this one up. So go out, buy the game. You can thank me later.

Unit Comparison: 5 Warriors vs 5 Wracks

2011-09-17T00:58:00.004-04:00

Wow. It's been a long two months. For those of you who don't know, I got a new job, moved, got a house, all sorts of crap. Also with all this going on, my monitor acted funny. I let my wife called HP to get a new one. Long story short, I spent the last 3 nights trying to repair my computer. I am also very happy to be apart of Da Deff Kompny Supa Duppa Mo Dakka, Mo Chopper, Krumpedy Krump( just like Gork, or possibley Mork) Blog ever!!!! Anyhow, the Blog fairy is angry so on to the article....

Ok, I've been thinking, Venom spam seems to be all the rage right now. I am personally not convinced, but that is another story. I definitely see the appeal. Venoms are amazing. I have been running 10 man squads and have found them to be a tad lacking. I am also finding it harder to squeeze in enough Anti tank and decent assault units. And at the end of the day, it's not like 10 man units are more durable or anything. All these things got me thinking about our "red-headed step child" troop choice, wracks. Anyhow lets compare two very similar units.

Warrior Unit.......125 pts.
5 Warrior
Blaster
Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannon

Wrack Unit.......125 pts.
5 Wracks
Liquifier Gun
Venom w/ 2 Splinter Cannons

The warriors are the classic choice. They are much more fragile than the wracks but, their big advantage is the blaster. One blaster doesn't seem like much, but remember we are looking at the army as a whole. That means 5 or 6 more darklight shots on the table. That can really change the game. Plus the poison shots can be great. The Wracks have poison, but have to be in assault to use it. And when I say Wracks are more durable, it still doesn't mean they are all that durable. T4 FNP is good, but with 5 models it is still not the type of unit that can get thrown into the mix.

Of course, in every other way the wracks are better. The only real down side is the having to take a haemonculus to make them troops, and it's not really a downside, just a restriction. Plus the liquifier gun can be a MONSTER!!!. I killed a 10 man unit of Eldar warp spiders in one shot. Absolutely gross. Another great thing is, if you have an assault force, or plan to assault anything, the Wracks have the ability to move up and support, where as the others can't.

Verdict: At the end of the day,which is better? I think, like with all DE armies it depends on the army you build around it. I personally think wracks are better. They will be more able to push units off of objectives, as well as the abiltiy to support other assault units in your force. Compared to some of our other anti-infantry options, 125pts for this unit's damage output is a steal. Also, anti tank can often be found most efficiently in the rest of the army. Of course, if you need the anti-tank, or have a generally shooty force, warriors are the obvious choice.